Note: Road Trip Memories is a series on Traveler Ahoy where I look back at the various things I’ve seen and done on past road trips.
When I go t Saskatchewan to visit my family one of the towns I drove through is Biggar. The town of Biggra is located on Highway 14 in Saskatchewan, and is about 95 kilometres west of Saskatoon. With over 2300 people Biggar is one of the larger towns I drive by on my trip to Saskatoon.
Biggar was the birthplace of the late Sandra Schmirler who was a Canadian curler. Her team won the 1998 Olympics gold medal in curling. Biggar is also the home of the Hanson’s Buck, which was a white-tail deer that had the world record for the largest antlers. A replica of the deer is located along the side of Highway 14. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to get a good photo of the Hanson Buck.
What I really love about Biggar though is its slogan. According to the Biggar Museum some drunk surveyors spray painted a sign with what is now Biggar’s slogan (it was officially adopted in 1954).
The punny sign of Biggar Saskatchewan.
ha! That’s hilarious! Mostly the story of how it came about. I love it
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I know I loved the story too.
Hahaha! I love the sign! Where is Biggar, Saskatchewan located anyways? never heard of it before
Biggar is about 90 minutes west of Saskatoon on Highway 14. Most people usually take the Yellowhead (16) if they’re coming from Edmonton to Saskatoon which means they miss out on going through Biggar.
Ha! I’ve never seen that sign before! I hail from Winnipeg, Manitoba and must say that a lot of what there is to see between Toronto and Calgary/Edmonton is farm land. That being said, if you can sniff out the giants of the prairies and funny city signs such as these, a Canadian road trip is well worth it.
Failing that, them farmers always need help for harvest, could make for a good seasonal job hunt, just like in Europe, except in Canada and with tractors hauling grain!!!
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Thanks for the comment. Giant road side attractions and funny signs are some of my favourite things about a road trip.
I lived in Sask. for a while when I was in Katimavik…. I can see why people call it boring, but thats just because there isn’t a really huge urban centre there. Its no more boring than my home province of Manitoba though.
I havn’t been to Saskatoon yet, but I have heard that its a really nice city actually.
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Thanks for the comment. It’s funny because Albertans (my home province) often give Saskatchewan a lot of flack for being boring. But in many ways we’re very much the same. Saskatoon is quite nice, although I’m usually just at my relative’s I’ve never really explored too much of the city on my own.
Those are some interesting facts about Biggar. I’m from a small town (Gold River) on Vancouver Island of about the same population. I’ve also spent time living in Saskatchewan briefly in Dundurn when I used to be a reservist a LONG time ago
I found the province quite scenic and I especially enjoyed Saskatoon.
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Thanks for the comment. My dad’s family is from Saskatchewan and it always gets labelled as boring, but it’s really a nice place.